Overseas voting for June 3 election kicks off. How does it work?

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Overseas voting for June 3 election kicks off. How does it work?

Published: 20 May. 2025, 19:00 Updated: 23 May. 2025, 13:19

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Voters living in France cast their ballots votes at a polling station at the Korean Embassy in Paris on May 20, as overseas voting for the June 3 presidential election kicked off for a six-day run. [NEWS1]

Overseas voting for Korean nationals for the June 3 presidential election kicked off Tuesday for a six-day run, with turnout abroad often seen as a barometer of overall polling enthusiasm.

A university student in New Zealand was the first voter to cast her ballot for this snap election cycle at a polling station on Tuesday morning, according to the Korean Embassy in Wellington.

She is among a total of 258,254 overseas Koreans registered to vote at 223 polling stations across 118 countries from Tuesday through Sunday, according to the National Election Commission.

Kim Hyun-seo, a Korean university student in New Zealand, poses for a photo after casting her ballot at a polling station in New Zealand on May 20, becoming the first overseas voter for the upcoming June 3 presidential election. [YONHAP]

Voting began in countries including Japan, which has 19 designated polling booths in cities including Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Fukuoka. There are 411,043 eligible Korean voters residing in Japan, according to the Korean Embassy in Tokyo, and some 38,600 registered to vote in the upcoming election.

In China, where 25,154 voters are registered, polling stations are set up at 10 embassies and consulates general including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Qingdao.

People living in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, which posted a record 16,693 registered overseas voters, also began casting ballots. There are seven voting sites in the country, including in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh.

The United States has the highest number of registered overseas voters at 51,885 who can vote at a total of 37 polling stations. Polling booths are set up at nine diplomatic missions including the Korean Embassy in Washington and consulates general in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.

Overseas voting this election includes four new countries that Korea has recently forged diplomatic ties with or established new missions in — Cuba, Luxembourg, Lithuania and Estonia. Previously, voters from these countries would have to travel to a nearby country with a polling station to cast their ballots overseas.

This comes as key candidates Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party are busy on the campaign trail with the election just two weeks away.

The DP's Lee held a virtual meeting with Korean nationals living abroad on Tuesday to encourage overseas voting before campaigning in the Gyeonggi area including Uijeongbu, Paju and Gimpo.

“Korea has become an economic powerhouse and a cultural trendsetter in the eyes of the world thanks to the devotion and efforts of overseas Koreans living far from home,” Lee wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “At every turning point in history and in every crisis, you have always stood by your country.”

His PPP rival, in turn, focused his attention on campaigning in southern Seoul, including the Gangseo, Seocho and Songpa districts.

A voter, left, casts her ballot at a polling station at the Korean Embassy in Tokyo on May 20, the first day of overseas voting for the 21st presidential election. [YONHAP]

Who can vote?

Eligible voters include registered overseas Korean nationals 18 years of age or older without resident registration in Korea, as well as citizens temporarily abroad who have registered as absentee voters. All must have completed the voter registration process in advance to participate in the overseas vote.

When and where can you vote?

Voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 223 polling stations in 118 countries. They include booths at 182 Korean embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions and offices. Overseas voters are allowed to cast their ballots at any overseas polling station, regardless of the embassy or consulate they are initially registered with during the sign-up process. This means a voter who registered to vote at the Korean Embassy in Washington can vote at a polling station in New York. Polling hours and dates may vary by location, so voters are advised to check local embassy websites in advance.

Voters living in China cast their ballots votes at a polling station at the Korean Embassy in Beijing on May 20, the first day of overseas voting for the June 3 presidential election. [YONHAP]

What do you need to bring, and what is the process?

Voters must present an official government-issued photo ID, such as a passport, resident registration card or driver's license. Overseas voters must also provide original documents verifying their Korean nationality, such as a permanent resident certificate or visa.

The voting process includes identity verification, receiving a ballot and envelope, marking the ballot in a polling booth, sealing the paper and placing it in the ballot box. Photography or video recording is prohibited once the ballot is received. The document can’t be torn or damaged.

Voters head to an overseas polling station at the Korean Embassy in Beijing on May 20. The National Election Commission is operating shuttle buses to help transport Korean residents in China to polling booths during the six-day overseas voting period. [YONHAP]

What can we expect from the turnout?

The 258,254 registered overseas voters for the 21st presidential election are 14.2 percent more than for the last presidential election in 2022, which saw 226,162 voters.

Of the registered overseas voters, 28,723 are overseas voters and 225,931 are absentee voters.

By region, Asia accounts for the largest portion of overseas voters at 128,932, or 49.9 percent of the total. North and South America follow with 75,607 voters, or 29.3 percent, while Europe accounts for 43,906, amounting to 17 percent.

Overseas voter registration this year is down 12.3 percent from the presidential election in 2017, which had 294,633 registered voters.

Despite increased registration compared to the 2022 election, which took place in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns remain over the relatively low participation rate of voters abroad; of the estimated 2.2 million overseas Koreans eligible to vote, roughly one in 10 registered.

In 2024, overseas voting turnout for the April 10 general election hit a record high of 62.8 percent, or 92,923 people out of 147,989 voters living abroad.

Overseas votes have generally slanted more liberal than the general outcome in past presidential elections.

A voter casts his ballot at an overseas polling station set up at the Korean Embassy in Moscow on May 20. [YONHAP]

When was the overseas voting process adopted?

Korea’s overseas election system was introduced in 2012 after a Constitutional Court ruling in 2007 found that limiting voting rights based on the condition of residence in Korea violated the Constitution.

More information can be found at the National Election Commission website at: https://www.nec.go.kr/site/vt/main.do

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]